Arsenal's transfer pursuit of Aston Villa playmaker Morgan Rogers has taken a fresh twist
12:09, 13 Jul 2026Updated 12:17, 13 Jul 2026
Arsenal are understood to be huge admirers of Aston Villa star Morgan Rogers.
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Arsenal are understood to be huge admirers of Aston Villa star Morgan Rogers.(Image: (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images))
Arsenal's summer transfer pursuit of Morgan Rogers has taken a fresh twist after Manchester United activated a £35m release clause for Aston Villa team-mate Youri Tielemans.
Michael Carrick's side are closing in on the signing of Belgian international Tielemans, having activated a clause in his Villa contract as doubts persist over their move for Atalanta's Ederson.
Villa want to keep the 29-year-old midfielder at the club, having played a key role in their Europa League success last season and discussed a new contract a few months ago.
However, Tielemans is yet to sign new terms at Villa Park, with all three parties now in talks over a possible transfer to Old Trafford.
The Athletic claims Unai Emery wanted to build his midfield around a three of Tielemans, Boubacar Kamara and Amadou Onana, though the latter is set for a significant spell on the sidelines after injuring his ACL at the World Cup.
Despite the desire to keep their best players, Villa, who were fined £19.4m by Uefa for a "significant breach" of its squad-cost rule for 2025, know they have to sell players in order to comply with financial fair play regulations this summer.
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Lucas Digne is attracting attention from Champions League winners PSG in a deal worth under £10m, which will be a boost for Emery's side as they continue to avoid further breaches of financial regulations.
The departures of the two aforementioned stars will also strengthen Villa's position when it comes to Rogers this summer, with the sale of Tielemans particularly because of his 2023 arrival on a free transfer.
Morgan Rogers
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Morgan Rogers is a transfer target for Arsenal(Image: Harry Langer/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images)
The Europa League winners have no desire to sell the England international, given his importance to Villa.
Villa are, however, closing in on a deal to sign Swiss international Johan Manzambi, which means they'll still have to sell players this summer.
Mikel Arteta is a big admirer of Rogers, and has reportedly made him the club's number one target this summer, though Villa have set a reported asking price of £130m, which would be a British club-record transfer fee.
"I'm not sure I'm worth all of that!" Rogers said when asked about that asking price. "Of course it's nice to hear that from people.
"But I don't let outside noise dictate me. I'm just going to keep focused, keep being me, keep being the person that got me here and keep trying to improve. I don't really listen to stuff like that."
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Arsenal are also understood to be admirers of PSG winger Bradley Barcola, with Arteta keen on bolstering the left-hand side of the Gunners' attack, and could turn to the French international as a possible alternative to Rogers.